& # 39; Zeke Who? & # 39; Dallas Cowboys do not panic with explosive rookie Tony Pollard | Bleacher's report

A core of truth exists in every joke. Otherwise, the joke would not be funny.

The owner of the Dallas Cowboys, Jerry Jones, replied playfully, "Zeke who?" when reporters asked him questions about Ezekiel Elliott's status on Saturday after Dallas's win, which had won the pre-season 14 to 10, against the Los Angeles Rams.

Jones made a foolish comment after fourth-round team-mate Tony Pollard averaged 8.4 yards per run and scored a 14-yard touchdown for his second-quarter tally. action in the NFL. In two preliminary competitions, this year's 128th pick was an average of 6.7 yards per touch.

The more successful Pollard is, the stronger the Cowboys have in negotiations with Elliott in his current scenario.

To be 100% clear, Elliott is an elite talent and Pollard can not replace what the NFL's double leader brings to the offensive. In addition, the Cowboys will be a much better offensive with both in training.

However, the emergence of Pollard shows that the franchise is not subject to Elliott's contract requirements, as the offense can still be effective if the rookie plays back.

Originally, the Memphis product was intended as a change of pace option. The Cowboys needed somebody …no matter who… to lighten Elliott's burden, since the fourth overall pick in 2016 averaged 25 hits per game over his three-year career. Elliott is the only returning player to eclipse 300 regular seasons twice since his arrival.

Last year's substitutes, Rod Smith and Darius Jackson, only carried the ball 50 times and had a disappointing average of 2.9 yards per race. The Cowboys front-runner has made depth a priority this season and has drafted Pollard and Mike Weber.

The value of Pollard stems from his versatile skills. He has accumulated an average of 1,620 yards per season in the last three years as a runner, catcher and return player. NFL.com analyst Lance Zierlein described Pollard as a future part-time player and not a possible return.

"He has enough talent to handle the packaged games / gadgets, but with the return value of the goal dwindling throughout the league, he will need additional training at the fundamentals at a single position to be more than just the same." a brilliant toy that is rarely ready for use, "wrote Zierlein.

The screening service and Cowboys coaching staff saw something different.

"I know people think it's going to be that gadget," said back-run coach Gary Brown in May, by Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk. "It's more than that – it's bigger than you think, and it's powerful for a guy who, in your opinion, is a gadget, I think he can do all our shopping and more." "

Brown's words were prophetic. The back of 6 "0", 209 pounds showed excellent vision and broke against the Rams, but against LA's second-line defense.

"I thought he had handled football well," Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett said at the conclusion of Saturday's game. "When you play against [Rams defensive coordinator] Wade Phillips, he will do everything to stop the race during the first tests. The sled was going to be hard for us, but I think we found some folds very early. Obviously, the touchdown was important to us. "

Two factors play in favor of the Cowboys and explain why they could suffer a long period of resistance from Elliott.

First of all, Pollard is much more advanced in its development than expected.

"Tony is very calm," Garrett added. "He's playing with maturity beyond his years, and we're just a couple of pre-season players and not a lot of games, and that's sort of what we saw in practice and how he behaves, he has a long way to go, but he does it in the right way. "

Dallas offensive coaches have not even exploited the full potential of Pollard. He is a legitimate weapon out of the backfield, that's why he invokes comparisons Alvin Kamara of the Saints of New Orleans. But he has only caught one pre-season pass so far.

"One of the most exciting players in this training camp," quarterback Dak Prescott told Pollard. Dallas Morning News"David Moore. "The things he's been able to run the ball, catch the ball out of the backfield, he's playing games."

Secondly, a few years ago, there was an argument that any player in the back or in the skill could excel behind the Dallas offensive line because the fifth starting rank was the best of the sector. Pollard is not behind the left tackler Tyron Smith, six times in the Pro Bowl, nor the goalkeeper Zack Martin, the team three times in front row. Neither of them went to Hawaii because of persistent problems. Travis Frederick's return from Guillain-Barré syndrome is already one of the best stories of the year, but the offensive line of the Cowboys is not in focus. Once Smith and Martin return, the intact offensive front will make the Dallas attack even more powerful, whether Elliott or Pollard are at the rendezvous.

Seeing the debut of Pollard's production and knowing that the offensive line is going to improve should allow the Cowboys to remain firm in their current position. The organization does not need to move if it does not want to do it. NFL Network Jane Slater reported two weeks ago that Dallas had already among the top five "best paid" bids for his respective positions on the table for Elliott, Prescott and wide receiver Amari Cooper.

For Elliott, a contract among the top five based on the current market is vast. Todd Gurley of Rams earns $ 14.4 million a year, while LeSean McCoy of Buffalo Bills, the fifth highest paid, earns $ 8 million per season. Obviously, Elliott wants to be on the high end of the market, otherwise the the fastest paid.

As a result, the reserve could last until the regular season.

Jones has set the price with the existing contract offer. The Cowboys do not have the necessary financial leeway because Prescott, Cooper, cornerback Byron Jones, linebacker Jaylon Smith and right tackle La & # 39; el Collins deserve to be extended. The Cowboys can not yield to Elliott's demands, and they must not do so thanks to Pollard.

"He knows exactly what to do, and he knows how to do it" Jones told reporters of the rookie being executed. "If he's going out and he's playing at that level, he's going to be [at] for the next few weeks, he will be in the middle of the game. This will really complement what we do with Zeke, not to replace that, I mean, not to replace it. "

The joke is about Elliott, though, because Pollard is better than expected.